The following Friday, I got in my car just after breakfast and drove north to Los Angeles. Sebastian had asked me to come for the weekend, and though I had made the argument about grading papers, Sebastian had suggested I just bring them with me. I could hardly argue with that. Especially since Sebastian was leaving that Monday for Brazil and I really wanted to see him again before he’d be gone a month.
Sebastian lived in the hills above Hollywood. Up a long, winding road with a gate about halfway. A guard listened to my name and waved me through. It was another half a mile before I reached his house. Scratch that…mansion.
It was all one story, but it was massive, stretched across the entire landscape and overlooking most of L.A. I realized as I got out of my car, it overlooked the Hollywood Bowl. It was Spanish mission style and had a courtyard in front with a fountain, currently not running.
Sebastian came out of his house as I approached. He saw me looking at the fountain. “Drought and all.” He shrugged.
“You didn’t tell me you could see the stage of the Hollywood Bowl from your house.”
“Pretty cool, huh?”
“Uh, yeah. Wow. I’m like…wow.”
He laughed and pulled me toward the front door. Inside looked like something out of a magazine highlighting the homes of the rich and famous. It was all very Mediterranean-looking.
“I guess Space Heroes pays a lot,” I commented, sure my mouth was hanging open.
“Yeah, it does. And some of my other roles, too. But I’m still the guy you know and want to have sex with, remember?”
“It’s a little overwhelming,” I admitted.
He smiled uncertainly. “I’m sorry. I don’t really think about it. I probably should. It’s just the life I’ve been living now. Is it too much for you?”
I exhaled slowly. “It takes some getting used to. But no, it’s not too much.”
“Good. Because I love this house. I love this place. It’s amazing at night especially and I really want you to see it, Marty. Throughout much of L.A., you can’t see the stars at night because of the lights. But here you can. And I want you to see. Living here in the summer is a little obnoxious because of the Bowl, but on the other hand, that’s kind of cool, too. Especially on firework nights.”
“You sound like you’re selling me the house,” I joked with a grin.
Sebastian looked away, a little shyly. “Maybe I am.”
I blinked, feeling my stomach turn over. “What?”
“Never mind.” He smiled brightly. “Let me show you the rest of the house.”
* * * *
I moved inside him, deep, joined. It felt amazing like it always did. He lay on his back, his legs wrapped around my waist as I drove into him. His gaze was locked with mine. Such beautiful blue. Like periwinkle or something. His hand stroked his cock as I fucked him. His lips were parted slightly, with his breaths coming in fast pants.
“God, you’re gorgeous,” I murmured. I was falling for him. Hell, maybe I was already there.
He tightened his muscles and I went over the edge.
Later, he was urging me to get dressed so we could go outside. Night had fallen.
The evening was balmy warm, so we both just went out in shorts, no shirts. We were holding hands as we walked out to his backyard. And then I saw it.
“Oh, my God. You have a telescope?” I practically tripped over myself to get to it.
“Yeah. I hope it’s okay.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was told this was a really good one.”
Just as I was about to look into the telescope, I straightened. “You just bought this? Because I was coming?”
Sebastian blushed. “Uh. Yeah. I have a confession to make.”
“What?”
“Back when we were pen pals, I pretended to be interested in space and stars, even science fiction.” He sort of kicked at the dirt with the toe of his sneakers.
“Why?”
“Because you liked it. And I liked you.” Sebastian shrugged. “I looked at all the letters back then when they first came in because I was the teacher’s assistant, kind of. Like her favorite. So she let me choose. I chose yours because I really liked the way you wrote and the things you said.” He shook his head. “But I thought if I told you I wasn’t interested in that stuff, you wouldn’t want to keep writing to me.”
I felt a twist of sympathy for that lonely kid he must have been. “I would have liked you anyway.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure. Funny how I ended up in space movies.” He grinned. “I wanted you to see the stars and planets and stuff up close. So, yeah, I bought this. Are you mad?”
“Mad? I feel giddy.” I grinned back at him. “I have telescopes. Of course. But this…this is a really great one.”
He nodded. “I asked a guy at Griffith Observatory what to get.”
My eyes lit up, I knew. “The Observatory?”
“You’ve been there?”
“Hell, yeah. Many times. I love that place. When I was a kid I totally wanted to work there.” I sighed. “Maybe someday.”
“That would be cool. You know. Because it’s close to here. If, you know, you ever want to move to L.A. or whatever.” He was rubbing the back of his neck again.
“This is a great house.” I fidgeted with the telescope and bent down to look into it. “Wow. Awesome. Come look.”
Sebastian laughed but he bent down to look just the same and pretty soon we were both gazing at stars and planets. We stayed out there for hours until he complained he was getting cold.
After we made love again, we lay snuggled together.
“This is nice,” he declared.
“Yeah, it is.” I had it bad.
“I don’t want to go to Brazil.”
“A whole month, huh?”
“Yeah. Not sure how much I’ll get a chance to keep in touch, but I’ll try.”
I nodded and kissed him. “I’ll be fine.”
“We’ll be fine.”
“Yeah.” He drew me down to him and we forgot about sleep again.